Police station project could move forward if land deal approved

Wednesday

Mar 12, 2014 at 2:00 AM

YORK — The Board of Selectmen on Monday unanimously approved putting a warrant article on the May ballot that would meet the mitigation requirements of wetland and vernal pool disturbance on police station project land.

Susan Morse

YORK — The Board of Selectmen on Monday unanimously approved putting a warrant article on the May ballot that would meet the mitigation requirements of wetland and vernal pool disturbance on police station project land.

The mitigation approved relates to the original design for the police station project proposed over two years ago, and is not related to later federal and state violations for over cutting and placing debris in a vernal pool buffer, according to Town Manager Rob Yandow.

The proposed police station road from Ridge Road to Route 1 is across a stream, according to Yandow. Regulators require that the area disturbed must be mitigated by the conservation of other land off-site, or through a fee.

The town chose mitigation through a land transfer to the York Land Trust.

On Monday, York Land Trust Executive Director Doreen MacGillis said the trust has agreed to accept a town-owned parcel on Bell Marsh Road as conservation land in a mitigation agreement approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Voters must approve the transfer in a warrant article this May.

MacGillis told selectmen she and land trust officials have been working with Stantec Consulting of Topsham to help meet the mitigation requirements for the town.

In the process of doing due diligence on the town's Bell Marsh Road property, the land trust found a boundary discrepancy with abutting land owner Daniel Rosa, MacGillis said.

"We found what we thought was a really good solution," MacGillis said. "We were able to revise the mitigation package to have Dan's property included in it."

Rosa had a total of three lots, MacGillis said. He was willing to give up two, which had building rights, in exchange for one with a house lot, she said.

In total, the York Land Trust will acquire an estimated 28 acres and Rosa will get a 10-acre lot, she said. The land given up by Rosa is valuable wetland, she said, while he got an upland area better suited for construction.

Mitigation for federal and state violations for the 2012 over-cutting of trees and the placing of debris in a vernal pool buffer has been and is being addressed, according to Yandow.

The wetlands needed to be restored, and that has occurred, he said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved a vernal pool restoration plan to move the rock pile from the buffer by having the stone crushed and used for the new road.

Originally the town was given until this past fall to restore the vernal pool buffer, but the town received an extension to July 15, he said. The town must have permits in place by that date to remove the rock, he said. This includes Planning Board approval for the road, according to Yandow.

Andrew Johnston, engineer for SMRT, has submitted plans for the police station and the road to the independent reviewers for the project, according to Yandow. The plan is expected to go before the Planning Board in April, he said.

Voters approved the $8.4 million police station and road in 2011.

In other business:

The Board of Selectmen agreed to hire the Maine Municipal Association to help with the search for a new town manager. Yandow announced in January that he will retire in October.

The cost is not to exceed $4,900, with other expenses such as advertising not to be included in that cap. The money is coming from the selectmen's contingency account.

The board is expected to schedule a meeting with David Barrett, director of personnel and labor for the Maine Municipal Association.

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